"Michael Cash" <mikecash@buggerallspammers.com> wrote in message
news:35t4e0p3t31rh5nbqg6jkqk64uo0l2291o@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 19:54:05 +0000 (UTC), Steve
> <steve_h@dsl.pipex.net> brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:
>
>
> >Postal systems are heirarchical in nature.
> >
> >person
> >house
> >street
> >town
> >area
> >country
> >
> >kind of thing.
> >
> >People at each stage of the sorting process (with the help of
> >machines) route the correspondence to its final destination.
> >We, in the West, rely on the people (more than the machines) to aid
> >the routing process. We hoep they will make sensible decisions in case
> >of mistakes in spelling and missing/incorrect information and simply
> >not to screw it up at each stage of the process. Things you woud
> >expect from a service industry.
> >The last person in the chain is the person delivering to the house.
> >They know their route of houses/business and perhaps the peoples names
> >so they can assist if the address is not quite right.
> >I can think of a few reasons why a postal system would endeavour to
> >route a parcel to the other side of the world and then not deliver it
> >because the recipients name is not quite right.  But none of those
> >reasons are noble, sensible or considerate - qualities I'd expect from
> >a Japanese system. So I'm interested in finding out if the system
> >works this way and why it works this way.
> >Is it corrupt? Is it bloody-minded nitpicking? Or is it simply that my
> >friend is talking out of her arse?
> >
>
> I have sent several letters and mailed dozens upon dozens of parcels
> to Japan from the US, with the address done completely in Japanese
> (kanji, etc) with only the word "Japan" written in roman letters. The
> people at the local post office protested that it couldn't be handled.
> I pointed out that all they had to do was get it on the right boat and
> the folks in Japan would handle the rest. Everything arrived fine.
>

That is exactly how I address letters to Japan, after having gone to the
local post office
here in New York and confirmed from them that it is completely acceptable.